Chapter 290: Chapter 287: 287: Speak Nicely

The delegation from the Prefectural Governor’s Office consisted of three individuals, one of whom was a middle-aged Master, accompanied by two Martial Cultivators, including a martial master.

They first visited Feng Jun’s courtyard, but upon hearing that Feng Jun had been away for a few days, they rented two rooms from the nearby Tian Family.

There was no issue of requisitioning—the Tian Family readily vacated two rooms as soon as they learned the visitors were from the Prefectural Governor’s Office.

The Prefectural Governor was a high-ranking official with substantial authority; even the Yongyi Duke was no match in terms of real power. Most importantly, this was the Governor of Fushan County, who oversaw Qingning Prefecture. Naturally, the Tian Family was eager to make a good impression.

The middle-aged Master was said to be the Clerk of the Governor. He did not disclose his reasons for seeking Feng Jun, merely expressing his wish to meet as soon as possible.

Feng Jun instinctively rejected the idea upon hearing that the visitors were from the government. So far, none of the officials he had encountered had left a favorable impression.

The only one he found somewhat agreeable was the local Magistrate Han.

At the same time, he was also curious. Nearly ten days had passed since the battle, and the Governor’s Office must have received news by now—did they suspect him to be an “Immortal”?

Consequently, he couldn’t help but speculate about what the Governor’s Office might want from him under these circumstances.

After some thought, he simply decided not to bother anymore, “How’s the courtyard renovation going?”

The messenger replied respectfully, “By the time I arrived, it was nearly finished. They’ve started moving furniture inside, and they planned to work extra tonight to spruce up the exterior. Everything should be ready by morning, but… we’re running low on diesel.”

The overwork these past few days meant using a considerable amount of electricity day and night.

Feng Jun nodded, “Alright then, rest well tonight, have a good meal in the morning, and we can head back.”

The day hadn’t turned completely dark yet. If they traveled through the night, they could arrive home by dawn. In all honesty, sleeping outdoors in tents wouldn’t provide much shelter from the piercing cold.

Nevertheless, everyone was indifferent; the prospect of returning home was good enough, and enduring one more night was no big deal.

By the next day’s noon, Feng Jun led a grand procession of people back to the courtyard driving a farm vehicle.

During these few days, quite a number of people had come seeking the Divine Doctor. The Deng Family Brothers who had been left in charge drafted a list of visitors, including all sorts—from every walk of life, among them someone even claimed to be an Executor from the Wonderful Hand Pavilion’s Thieves Hall.

The people from the Wonderful Hand Pavilion broke tradition and openly came to visit, clearly not because they thought too highly of themselves but because Feng Jun’s suspected identity as an Immortal compelled them to seek a direct encounter.

If they allowed the grudges to escalate uncontrollably, the Wonderful Hand Pavilion might even repeat the downfall of the Hundred Flowers Tower.

However, Feng Jun immediately refused, “A mere Executor… wants to talk to me? Who gave him such confidence?”

Deng Lao Er replied with a smile, “I said the same thing. He mentioned he was here to lay the groundwork, to register first. Then I told him, even for registration, it ought to be someone of the Thieves Hall Master’s level.”

Everyone smiled knowingly upon hearing this. The Thieves Hall Master of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion was indeed a famous sticking point in Donghua Country.

The Thieves Hall seemed to specialize in espionage and developing informants, but in fact, the Stealth Hall, the Thieves Hall, and the Thousand Hall each had their own intelligence systems. The Thieves Hall merely consolidated intelligence, and its own information channels might not be as efficient as the other three Halls.

The Thieves Hall excelled at recruiting top-level Martial Cultivators.

Getting high-level Martial Cultivators to join the notorious organization of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion was an extremely challenging task.

The Thieves Hall Master was an expert at this, rumored to be peerlessly beautiful and enticing to men and women, young and old alike. As to whether they were male or female, old or young, opinions varied with no authoritative answer.

Anyone approached by the Thieves Hall Master of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion essentially saw wealth and pleasure knock at their door.

Previously, it was the Thieves Hall Master who had successfully enticed a nearly Innate-level member of the Yangshan Gu Family into the Pavilion.

However, Feng Jun had no interest in such professional recruiters, and he promptly changed the subject, “How is the campaign going against the Gu Family’s business?”

Deng Yifu was an old hand at this sort of work. The day after Deng Lao Er left, he arranged an ambush outside the city against a Gu Family convoy transporting dried goods, attacking with ruthless ferocity. Not only did they seize the goods, but they also commandeered the carts and horses.

The Gu Family disclosed their identity, but unfortunately, the distinguished name of the Yangshan Gu Family was utterly ineffective. A few of the Gu Family members resisted and were hacked to death on the spot.

Normally, with bonds of fellowship in battle, the death of kin would result in a forceful counterattack. This time, intriguingly, the Gu Family remained calm and did not retaliate desperately but instead split into two groups, breaking free from the encirclement and fleeing.

That very night, a warehouse of the Gu Family’s rice shop—once used to reward soldiers—was set ablaze.

As personnel from various Gu Family shops mobilized to assist with the firefighting, several shops were invaded by villains who killed many, looted a significant amount of treasure, and then vanished without a trace amidst the chaos.

The next day, the Shopkeeper of the Gu Family Rice Shop reported the incident to the Prefectural Government Office, even pointing out that there was an eight or nine out of ten chance that the Mount Zhige bandits were responsible.

However, the Sage of the Prefecture, who had always been smilingly amiable, turned stern and said, “If you have no evidence, you must not level false accusations.”

How could the Gu Family have any evidence? They could only insist, claiming that their report of bandit incidents at Mount Zhige had angered the other side.

They already knew about the blunders of the Yongyi Duke’s Princely Heir and Lord Beiyuan, and they were aware that the adversary they had provoked might be an Immortal. Therefore, the Gu Family repeatedly cautioned their clan’s youths that it was a particularly sensitive time and that should any mishaps occur, their primary goal was to ensure their own safety.

It was precisely because of this that the convoy transporting the dry goods decisively abandoned their merchandise to break out of the encirclement.

Even with such caution, they had not anticipated that the opponent would be so brazen as to set a fire openly within the Prefectural city, and to take the opportunity to rob several shops in succession.

To set a fire and rob in the Prefectural city was indeed the greatest challenge to the Prefectural Government Office. Once defined by the Sage of the Prefecture as rebellion and insurrection, it was a crime that could lead to the extermination of a clan within minutes.

The opponent’s attacks were relentless, each more vicious than the last. The Gu Family had underestimated the extent of the enemy’s madness, but they believed that the Sage of the Prefecture could not tolerate such a situation.

But the Magistrate understood very well that if it was really as you said, then it wasn’t just the person from Mount Zhige involved in this affair—the guards of the Yongyi Duke must have taken action as well.

Challenging an Immortal was already enough to test the Magistrate’s courage, and if a duke was added to the mix…

Therefore, the Sage of the Prefecture bluntly stated, “Forget all that nonsense. Your family’s granary caught fire and affected nearly a hundred households. Although there were no fatalities, your family will have to cover these expenses.”

The Gu Family refused to accept this, arguing, “We were the victims of arson, Sage of the Prefecture. It’s crucial that we pursue the real culprit now. Talking about compensation is premature at this point.”

The Magistrate wasn’t concerned with their protests. He stated that comforting the afflicted commoners was of utmost importance. “Just because the Gu Family says someone set the fire, does it mean that it’s true? Not to mention anything else, you must compensate. If you don’t, we’ll have no choice but to auction off your family’s shops.”

Upon hearing this, the Gu Family’s shopkeeper realized a fact: the broad-browed and big-eyed Sage of the Prefecture was no longer reliable.

What to do if he can’t be relied upon? Run away. A few of the Gu Family’s shops had already begun to surreptitiously pack up their valuables, preparing to flee.

Deng Lao Er couldn’t help but express his smugness: “Actually, compensating the losses of a hundred or so households wouldn’t require the Gu Family to sell off their shops. However, it’s quite obvious they think we have more moves to play and hence plan to abscond. But now… their escape won’t be so easy.”

Feng Jun nodded, “Then, why did the Clerk from the Prefectural Governor’s Office come to find me? What was it for again?”

Deng Lao Er replied with a smile, “That guy refused to say, but after I prodded him a few times, it seems that… the Prefectural Governor’s office is interested in purchasing electric generators and lighting fixtures.”

“Purchasing?” Feng Jun unconsciously repeated, wasn’t it requisitioning?

But upon further thought, the Prefectural Governor commanded the financial power of an entire county, so buying some luxury items with genuine gold and silver didn’t seem too outlandish.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

So he nodded slightly, “If they are willing to spend the money, then of course it’s easy to talk… You know the price, you handle the negotiations with them.”

Feng Jun had not been back for long and the house was still not properly tidied up when the Prefectural Governor’s envoy visited again.

Deng Lao Er went out to deal with the guest, but it didn’t take long before he came back to find Feng Jun, “Divine Doctor, they insist on seeing you, saying there are important matters to discuss… He said that with my qualifications, being allowed to sit in on the conversation would already be quite fortunate.”

Feng Jun was momentarily taken aback, then let out a light chuckle, “Then let him in, and you can sit in.”

His previous interactions with the official government hadn’t been very pleasant, but if someone from the Prefectural Governor’s house was willing to spend money, such behavior was worth encouraging.

The middle-aged clerk truly appeared delicate: nearly 1.7 meters tall, but weighing, it seemed, no more than a hundred pounds, looking as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

To Feng Jun’s surprise, such a frail person was actually an Intermediate Level Martial Artist — are you sure you have cultivated?

The Clerk raised his hand in a respectful salute, speaking with neither subservience nor arrogance, “I have seen Mr. Feng. The Governor has heard that Zhige has remarkable people and objects, and specially sent me to see for myself, and indeed, it has been an eye-opener.”

“Sorry, I am very busy,” Mr. Feng spoke very directly, “Speak plainly. What do you want to say?”

“Mr. Feng is indeed a forthright man,” the Master grinned broadly, showing a thumbs-up, before his expression turned serious, “The Governor manages myriad affairs, and exhausts himself with care and diligence for the sake of the common people of this county. As his subordinate, I cannot bear to see him…”

Feng Jun didn’t like such bureaucratic platitudes and directly cut him off, “May I ask who Li Wanji is?”

This left the Clerk dumbstruck… isn’t this a bit too uncouth?

He stood gaping for quite a while, then very frankly said, “Firstly, I wish to purchase Mr. Feng’s electric generator and lighting lamps.”

“Hmm,” Feng Jun nodded, why not speak so directly from the beginning? It would save so much trouble.

He noticed the word “firstly,” but really, he didn’t care, so he nodded, “You want to buy, that’s fine, but I’ll say the unpleasant part first: it must be cash before delivery.”

He wasn’t being deliberately difficult; in the Earth Realm, he’d seen too many of the official government’s procurements.